Glass City Marathon Report - Stunned

Goal: 3:25 BQ PR

Result: 3:18:33

Reaction: Hell Yeah!!



Honestly I'm still stunned. After making two stupid mistakes last year that caused two failed attempts I toed the line at Glass City. This is a tale of two races. Miles 1 - 21, and then 21 - finish when something happened I still can't fully comprehend.



Miles 1 - 21: It was a steady drizzle to rain the whole way which kept temps down. Great course with the most aid stations I've seen in a marathon. Got started and it was a little congested with the Half going off as well. We ran the first 8 together. I was feeling pretty good keeping it in the 7:40 - 7:45 pace range. Came through the Half around 1:41 and change. By 16 I was working pretty hard keeping it at 7:40 and just hoping I wouldn't bleed too much the last few miles. I knew my fantasy goal of 3:20 was out as I was working too hard but hoped my overall goal of BQ 3:25 was still in play if I didn't bleed too much. Then I hit the 21M mark and everything changed.



Mile 21 - finish: Feel free to laugh as this will sound totally ridiculous and silly. Something happened to me at this point. All of a sudden it was like the mind, body, and spirit all synched up together in perfect harmony and I just took off running completely outside myself. I have no real memories of those last 5 other than feeling stronger and stronger and probably having a crazed look on my face. I didn't run conservatively prior and I was consistantly fueling along the way. The first 21 I average 7:42, the last 5.2 I averaged 7:05. It was like perfect running for me. I crossed the line and was in shock as I had stopped looking at my watch. After I crosssed the line people must have thought I was nuts as it took me a minute or so to come down from the state I was in with whatever crazed look I had. All I know is I made not only a BQ but BQ-5 and that should be enough to get me there next year.



Later on I was a physical wreck. Even now I still feel totally beat up. I'm taking a good recovery before thinking about JFK in the fall.



A big thanks to everyone in here. This never happens without all the advice and such from people here. This was a fantasy time that I never thought possible.



Thanks for reading.

Hey, I want a little of whatever that was you had going on late in the race!!

Congrats again. I'm certainly not laughing, except maybe with a little shared glee after all your struggles last year. Well-deserved.

Wow, that's awesome. We rarely get to read about the tale of two races that turns out so positive. I don't know what overcame you but I want some of that in my next race. Congratulations on your BQ and I guess we'll be seeing you at JFK and in Boston. Woo Hoo

Congratulations, Alex! Things finally fell together for you and then some.... I am very happy for you!

If anything, this might begin to show you what you could be capable of.

All the training and time spent does eventually pay off. Not sure how long your journey has been to BQ, but it took me nearly four years to get my first BQ. Hopefully your story will inspire others to continue to perservere towards whatever goals they might have, running or otherwise.

Again, congrats to you on a hard earned and well deserved reward.

Great to read about your race and especially the last 5.2 miles. It is such an accomplishment, especially when something unexplainable just takes over and carries you through. Way to freaking go!

Hell yeah is right Alex! I'd love to know what it feels like to feel so good at mile 21. You obviously trained right.
Congratulations on a sensational PR and of course the BQ.

Impressive...I'm going to have go take a long look at your blog and see how you trained!

Any specific things that you did differently this cycle?

Michael Enright wrote:Hey, I want a little of whatever that was you had going on late in the race!!
.

Thanks Michael. I wish I knew where it came from.

T Miller wrote:Wow, that's awesome. We rarely get to read about the tale of two races that turns out so positive. I don't know what overcame you but I want some of that in my next race. Congratulations on your BQ and I guess we'll be seeing you at JFK and in Boston. Woo Hoo

Thanks Tim. Some day maybe I'll figure it out.

jon c wrote:Congratulations, Alex! Things finally fell together for you and then some.... I am very happy for you!

Again, congrats to you on a hard earned and well deserved reward.

Thanks Jon. Hope to see you in Boston.

Paula Sue wrote:Great to read about your race and especially the last 5.2 miles. It is such an accomplishment, especially when something unexplainable just takes over and carries you through. Way to freaking go!

Thanks Paula Sue. You should run it again on the new course.

Seth Harrison wrote:Hell yeah is right Alex! I'd love to know what it feels like to feel so good at mile 21. You obviously trained right.
Congratulations on a sensational PR and of course the BQ.

Thanks Seth. I'd like to bottle it up because that may never happen again.

nkrichards wrote:Impressive...I'm going to have go take a long look at your blog and see how you trained!

Any specific things that you did differently this cycle?

Thanks. What I did differently was first, I ran at more different speeds. I pretty much used to just do tempo pace and long run/GA pace. I mixed it up greatly with speeds from 3K up to recovery. I also used to do an all out Half one month out which I think took some of the starch out came Marathon day. This time I didn't. Everything just came together.

Wow! Great race and many congratulations!!

Wow! What an absolutely fantastic race for you, Alex! Congratulations!

I, for one, am dying to see you post up some race photos from those last few miles. That crazed (and fast) look has got to be something to see.

Congratulations again, Alex! Fantastic job! My friend, Bill, described his race in the very same way, so maybe there was something magic pixie dust in those water cups for those of you who were gunning for the 3:25 and blew it away! You deserved this Alex after all the hard work that you put in over the last few training cycles! No matter what, when it comes together, it all comes together - fantastic.

Woot! Awesome race and many congrats!!!!!

What a great race...Congratulations on the zen running moment!!! Let it all soak in and enjoy the recovery.

So you did an anti-fade, WOW!! Huge! I've never finished that strong, always at least a mini-fade even in my PR races! I'm so excited for you, Alex! Hope to see you in Boston!

Thats so awesome! You felt it, and went for it, and just got stronger and stronger feeding on that.I wonder how many bewildered runners you picked off . One day I hope I experience that in a race

Julie wrote:Wow! Great race and many congratulations!!

Thanks Julie. It was fun.

Mark B wrote:Wow! What an absolutely fantastic race for you, Alex! Congratulations!

I, for one, am dying to see you post up some race photos from those last few miles. That crazed (and fast) look has got to be something to see.

Thanks Mark. I got the pictures and I'll have to post a couple. Comical face.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Congratulations again, Alex! Fantastic job! My friend, Bill, described his race in the very same way, so maybe there was something magic pixie dust in those water cups for those of you who were gunning for the 3:25 and blew it away! You deserved this Alex after all the hard work that you put in over the last few training cycles! No matter what, when it comes together, it all comes together - fantastic.

Thanks again Michele. Such a great day.

carleenp wrote:Woot! Awesome race and many congrats!!!!!

Thanks Carleen. Still can't believe we were on the same bus last year and didn't know it.

Nick Morris wrote:What a great race...Congratulations on the zen running moment!!! Let it all soak in and enjoy the recovery.

Thanks Nick. We both just missed last year by painful seconds. So you've got this now.

fostever wrote:So you did an anti-fade, WOW!! Huge! I've never finished that strong, always at least a mini-fade even in my PR races! I'm so excited for you, Alex! Hope to see you in Boston!

Thanks Steve, I still don't fully understand where the heck that finish came from but it was awesome.

amyjoann wrote:Thats so awesome! You felt it, and went for it, and just got stronger and stronger feeding on that.I wonder how many bewildered runners you picked off . One day I hope I experience that in a race

Thank you. I'll be shocked if I experience that in a race again. But I'll always strive to duplicate it.

Wow! Great job on the race Alex!

Kick A$$ Alex!!! That is such an awesome experience - you have worked so hard that it is really inspirational to see that result for you. Great job buddy!!!!!

This is amazing. It's the sort of thing we all dream about, but there can't be many people who actually manage to pull off a finish like that. Well done indeed!

This is so fantastic for you personally, but just plain awesome to get such a kick at mile 21. No one gets a kick at mile 21! Do you think it was the infamous 'runners high'?

Alex, I was really happy for you after reading your report. Those races are really few and far between. I'm glad it went so well and that should get you into Boston. Congratulations.

Jim Lentz wrote:Wow! Great job on the race Alex!

Thanks Jim.

John Kilpatrick wrote:Kick A$$ Alex!!! That is such an awesome experience - you have worked so hard that it is really inspirational to see that result for you. Great job buddy!!!!!

Thanks John. It was an awesome experience.

Chris Coleman wrote:This is amazing. It's the sort of thing we all dream about, but there can't be many people who actually manage to pull off a finish like that. Well done indeed!

Thanks Chris. I'm still trying to figure it out. Maybe it can't be explained.

dot520 wrote:This is so fantastic for you personally, but just plain awesome to get such a kick at mile 21. No one gets a kick at mile 21! Do you think it was the infamous 'runners high'?

Thanks Dot. As I said to Chris above I just can't figure it out right now.

JohnP wrote:Alex, I was really happy for you after reading your report. Those races are really few and far between. I'm glad it went so well and that should get you into Boston. Congratulations.

Thanks John. They are few and if I don't get that again I'll still be happy I nailed it once.

Great job in cranking out an amazing finish. It's great when everything clicks and you are running better than you thought you could run. Recover well and get back to doing whatever you did to give you that kind of success.

Alex hell yeah doesn't even describe it! Great job on running a wonderful race! The reward for if? Huge PR and a trip to Boston next spring! You came out and were a "gamer" and showed amazing "grit"!' I couldn't be happier for you!

This quote of your report stood out the most to me "mind, body and spirit all synched in perfect harmony!"

That my friend is what it is all about, there is no better feeling in the world when that right there happens in a race! I know that feeling and once you have a taste of it you only want it more and more. Truth be told I believe that happen because of one result you were ready and you excepted the moment. Personally I believe great moments happen when we let go and don't get in the way of ourselves!

Again fantastic race and look forward to meeting you on that little town called Boonesboro.

Wish we could bottle what you experienced in the final 10k of a marathon. Stuff like that would sell for a gazillion dollars! Great job and fantastic result!